Defoe: This has been blown out of all proportion

I’m amazed how the media try and make something massive out of something very small. It happens with many non-football things, like the McCartney divorce, but for Jermain Defoe’s ‘bite’ on Javier Mascherano to make the front pages of newspapers is ridiculous.

Thankfully the incident isn’t going to be taken further, and rightly so.

A spokesman for the FA said: “We are unable to take any action because the referee has already dealt with the incident.

“Fifa regulations prevent us from taking retrospective action.”

Defoe had earlier said: “This has been blown out of all proportion. The referee was standing right over me and if he felt I had done anything bad he would have sent me off.

“When the West Ham player fouled me, I reacted in a bit of a mischievous way; my character is a little like that at times. The referee was standing right over me and, if he felt I had done anything bad, he would have sent me off.

“The incident doesn’t look great on TV and I accept that as a role model to kids I have a responsibility to conduct myself in the right way which I always try to do on and off the pitch.”

The story of course doesn’t end there as flop Mascherano now claims: “To receive a bite was the worst thing that has happened to me,” if that’s the worst thing he’s ever had to suffer, then he’s had a very blessed life!